Seized black marketer’s boat serves as a warning

A FISHING boat has been seized and forfeited to the state and a recreational fisher and restaurant manager fined more than $8600 for black marketing of red claw.

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner welcomed the successful court prosecution, as the Queensland Government moves to further strengthen fisheries laws.

“Unlicensed selling of fisheries resources undermines the legitimate commercial fishing industry and threatens Queensland’s reputation as a producer of high-quality seafood,” Mr Furner said. “Reforms currently before Parliament are aimed squarely at fishers who illegally sell seafood on the black market, including stronger compliance powers for fisheries officers and higher penalties for offenders. The community has been calling for change to fisheries legislation for many years and these proposed reforms will bring Queensland fisheries management in line with world’s best practice.”

Member for Lytton Joan Pease said all fishers need to know the consequences of committing a serious fishing offence, which included losing their vessel. “If fishers are thinking about breaking the rules, they better be ready to risk losing their fishing boat,” Ms Pease said. “To reinforce that message, this particular forfeited vessel will be displayed at prominent boat ramps in southeast Queensland over coming weeks.”

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers intercepted a Kuraby-based fisher delivering almost 200 red claw to a Sunnybank restaurant in March. During the investigation, 82 freshwater traps, more than 133kg of red claw, a 4.5m catamaran and a kayak were also seized at Somerset Dam and Brisbane.

A recreational fisher, who was not a first-time offender, pleaded guilty to five charges including selling fisheries without a licence and using 78 excess and unmarked freshwater traps, was fined $7600 and had his vessel forfeited to the State.

A restaurant manager, who said he bought the red claw for a staff party and didn’t intend to sell it, was fined $1000 after pleading guilty to one count of selling seafood without an authority.

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2 comments

It would be interesting to know if this bloke has ever been in the commercial fishing industry. When offenders are caught, they are always nominated as a recreational fisher if they are not currently a commercial fisher, which distorts the real picture.

It also sounds like the restaurant owner got off lightly, whoever heard of an employer putting 133kg of redclaw on the staff party table?

Sunnybank, like the current infant’s dried food debacle, should give a clue regarding the expat identity of these people, and are from the orient or ex-communist SE Asian regions. These same cultures are highly suspected of stripping beaches dry of shellfish at Bribie, loading eskies full of shellfish and loading onto 4WD and trailers, although no one dare speak their race, for fear of a “multicultural” or, racist, xenophobic whatever backlash. 133kg of $20 plus kilo of Crayfish, I would say he or she got off very lightly. If you were to go to the mouth of the Stanley near the bridge, there are heaps of Asians and Indian origins from Kilcoy meat works taking tiny bass and crayfish as no one bothers to check there.